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On Thursday night, an exhausted, raspy-voiced, but unfailingly gracious Lauren Alaina stopped by "The Tonight Show" to discuss her second-place finish on "American Idol."

First order of business: shooting down rumors of a romance with the winner, Scotty McCreery. "I mean he's cute, but I don't know. We're just like really good friends," she said. "Everyone wants us to like each other, but we can't just seem to do it."

Seated on the couch next to her, CNN host Piers Morgan asked Alaina whether she would have won if she hadn't had trouble with her voice. Once again, she flatly denied the possibility: "No. I mean, it was tragic and terrible, but I wouldn't have."

Morgan didn't agree. "I thought you were the better singer, to be honest."

"You want to hear something funny? I tried out for your show, and I didn't make it," Alaina said, referring to "America's Got Talent," the series on which Morgan is a judge.

"Really?" he replied, practically leaping out of his seat with surprise.

Alaina clarified that she had actually tried out twice and was rejected both times. "I didn't even make it past the first round."

"This is a scandal," Morgan said.

Alaina didn't seem to be holding any grudges, but she did have some words of encouragement for other would-be reality-show contestants. "For all the people who try out for 'America's Got Talent' and don't make it, try out for 'American Idol.'"